True stories by a homicide detective Pat McGaha

December 7th is a historical date. Delaware became the first to ratify the US constitution, 1787. Jesse James’ gang robs a bank in Gallatin, Missouri and kills an innocent citizen, 1868. Thomas Edison demonstrates his phonograph to the editors of “Scientific American”, 1877. The USA’s “Rainbow” Division arrives in France (with Colonel Douglas MacArthur among it ranks), 1917. 19 year old Ted Williams signed with the … Continue reading Street Crime # 14

Copyright 1-4992347791-2017 “One for the road”…There was an old Hotel/Pub in Marble Arch, London that had an adjacent gallows. Prisoners were taken to the gallows (after a fair trial of course) to be hung. The horse drawn dray carting the prisoner was accompanied by an armed guard who stopped the dray outside the pub. He asked the prisoner if he would like “One Last Drink”. … Continue reading Street Crime # 13

Copyright 1-4992347791-2017 I was off duty Sunday the 27th and Monday the 28th. I spent the entire time with my wife Robbin and 2 year old son Paxton. I did not watch the news or read the paper back then. On the afternoon of Tuesday the 29th, I reported for duty in the major crimes unit. Every day at 4:00 P.M., we had a joint … Continue reading On A Full Moon 11 Part 2

Copyright 1-4992347791 2017 Like many of us, I use terms in my speech and writings and have no idea how they originated. In the U.S. Southern states, we are known for weaving old sayings and cliches into our colorful stories. Graveyard shift: England is old and small and they ran out of places to bury people. They dug up coffins and took the bones to a … Continue reading On A Full Moon 11 Part 1

Copyright 1-4002347791-2017 Poetic justice is a literary device in which ultimately virtue is rewarded and vice punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by and ironic twist of fate related to a character’s own action. Origin of the term: English drama critic, Thomas Rymer, coined the phrase in The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d (1678) to describe how a work should inspire proper … Continue reading On A Full Moon 10

Copyright 1-4992347791-2017 Warning! Graphic content Above photo in memory of my father, Shreveport Police Officer Rayburn McGaha Sr. 1947. Next photo he is with my sister, Sue, and his Harley. “If we ever meet for a cup of coffee, be advised it might be dangerous” – Pat McGaha I was assigned to graveyard shift patrol in the western part of town. I was a supervisor … Continue reading Street Crime Short Stories # 12

Copyright 1-4992347791-2017 Have you stood somewhere and let your mind wonder? What if you had a time machine and you scrolled back in 100 year increments? When I stand on the banks of the Old Red River, I think of times gone by, riverboats, steam whistles, black smoke, paddlewheelers churning muddy water, mules, giant cotton bales and men hard at work. When I was in high … Continue reading On A Full Moon 9